Demolishing flyover will be ‘worth the disruption’
Roads boss says traffic will be displaced in short term
THE city’s top roads boss has admitted that demolishing the Perry Barr flyover will lead to traffic being displaced.
The flyover will be demolished later this year despite an outcry from locals and politicians. Roadworks on the A34’s nearby Birchfield Road underpass also began this week that will halve the capacity of the dual carriageway in both directions for six months. But Cllr Waseem Zaffar said the council was trying to reconfigure driving habits across the city via a government-backed,
Covid-19 powered Emergency Transport Plan to introduce a series of Low
Traffic Neighbourhoods (LTNs).
Both Kings Heath and his own Lozells ward are being divided up into four LTN cells to force drivers heading somewhere else to drive all the way around the edge of each quarter rather than along “rat run” side streets.
The Labour cabinet member for transport and the environment hopes that restricting access to and from those side roads will see a sharp reduction in the number of “short” journeys that locals often make on their home turf.
Even if he only halves that figure, Cllr Zaffar is convinced it will result in a cleaner, safer environment for all while not impacting on the trade of local businesses.
But Cllr Zaffar admitted the decision to knock down the Perry Barr flyover near to the One Stop Shopping Centre on the A34 would send traffic over towards Lozells where he’s trying to keep cars away with the council’s ‘People and Places’ initiative he’s currently promoting.
Lib Dem leader Cllr Jon Hunt (Perry Barr) condemned the move, saying: “The demolition of the Perry Barr flyover will have a devastating impact on the local economy and access to jobs just as people are trying to get back to work over the coming months. If Cllr Ward wants to regenerate Perry Barr he needs to work with the local community not against it.” Members of the A34 Safety Action Group last year failed in their application to the High Court to seek permission to apply for a judicial review of the city council’s A34 Perry Barr highway improvement scheme.
Cllr Zaffar admitted he expects Lozells to bear part of the brunt of the traffic displacement.
He said: “During the period of the project there will be issues on the neighbouring areas to the
Perry Barr flyover which is the bridge to the One Stop Shopping Centre. A lot of my constituents think that the Perry Barr flyover starts from the Aston Six Ways Island, but it doesn’t.
“There will be displacement during this period of time.
“We are working very hard with key partners such as the bus operators, Transport West Midlands, to mitigate that as best possible.
“But the result of moving that flyover will mean a better flow in and out of the centre for private cars, better bus priority, segregated cycling lanes... and better walking facilities.
“So the benefits of this particular project hugely outweigh the short period of time we will get in terms of displacement. I am very confident we will deliver this project before the Commonwealth Games arrive here.”